Ammunition depot explosion kills 2 injures 60 in breakaway Abkhazia

By Tea Mariamidze

Friday, August 4

A powerful explosion that took place in de facto Abkhazian Defense Ministry’s ammunition depot located in the Primorskoye settlement, Gudauta District, left two Russian tourists dead and at least 60 injured.

Russian news agency Tass reports that on Wednesday, law enforcement agencies said that three tourists had gone missing, but since explosions continued for four hours it was impossible to search the area. Search operation was launched only after explosions ceased.

The next day two tourists, Russian citizens, were declared dead as a result of explosion.

The third person was found injured.

Up to 60 injured persons were taken to Gudauta and Sokhumi hospitals.

Sputnik-Abkhazia reports that de facto Minister of Health Tamaz Tsakhnakia says the health condition of the injured is stable.

“The lives of the hospitalized people are not in danger, including the seven patients, who are undergoing treatment in Gudauta hospital,” he said.

The de-facto Health Ministry spokesman Rustam Zantaria said the majority of those hurt were holidaymakers taking mud baths at a nearby hot Sulfur spring. They received cuts from shrapnel, glass shards and rocks that the blast wave carried.

BBC Russia reports that 35 out of the injured people are the citizens of Russia.

The de facto Abkhazia’s general prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into the incident.